Partnership with Heifer International
On 4-5 November Heifer Project International Armenian Branch Office Study Tour group consisting of 19 Area Volunteer Coordinators from the USA visited Lori Region, the village of Debed to meet the families assisted within the framework of Heifer Armenia & Fuller Center for Housing Armenia Partnership. Fuller Center for Housing Armenia, in partnership with Heifer Armenia, is implementing a program that helps the beneficiary families to establish small farms by providing them a pregnant heifer on condition that the first calf will be passed on to another needy family after three years.
Giving resources to the families who already have their own decent house Fuller Center for Housing Armenia together with Heifer Armenia give them the opportunity for life betterment: imagine families who once dreamed of having a decent home are also given the
opportunity to live better. This is also a good way to enable them pay back the zero-interest loans (only by selling the 60 % of the milk, they can pay back the loans). The project is enlarging, and now we also provide families with sheep and bees.Up to now 100 Fuller Center for Housing Armenia beneficiary families were provided with cows, 42 families with bees and 15 families with sheep. This year already 35 families from Khachik village passed on the gift - the heifer to other Fuller Center Armenia beneficiary families thus providing another 35 families with resources and the opportunity for life betterment.
Armenia Marriott Hotel Annual Build with the Fuller Center for Housing Armenia “… I have always dreamed of having a home like those in big cities with all the necessary accommodations… we did not know where to go, where to live… we have been living in a one roomed metal container, called domik, for a long time, the roof of which was deteriorated and it was leaking when raining… Of course, it is already a vain to speak about any kind of accommodation… it was just a room full of dangers: snakes and scorpions from under the floor and water leaking from the roof… says 18 years old Narine, the eldest daughter.
Continuing Partnership : KPMG Armenia & Fuller Center for Housing Armenia Building TogetherOn July 16, 2011 KPMG Armenia staff members joined Fuller Center for Housing Armenia volunteers from USA in Dasht village, Armavir region, at building site helping to build the Gyozalyans’ house, a single mother’s house. This is already the third year of joining forces with KPMG Armenia and Fuller Center for Housing Armenia, a example of corporate citizenship aimed at eliminating poverty housing in Armenia and also a good way of encouraging a positive impact on employees. KPMG Armenia is supporting the home building in Armenia by financial contributions and volunteering activity, working side by side with the low income families. “It was an interesting way of bringing a difference into life and at the same time doing some useful work for the people who needed it. It was both fun and rewarding.”—says Mikayel Sargsyan from KPMG Armenia. KPMG Armenia was looking forward to the event realizing that they are making a way for a better life for one more Armenian family.
Cascade Insurance & Fuller Center for Housing Armenia - Home Build DayJune 6, 2011 -Cascade Insurance 13 Staff members joined Fuller Center for Housing Armenia beneficiary family of Davtyans at the building site in the village of Ashnak, Aragatsotn region. Cascade Insurance staff members spent their day at the building site in Ashnak Village giving one more family the basis for prosperous future. The staff members were glad to build with the family in need thus giving them the opportunity to raise their children in safe and healthy conditions.Nerses and Varduhi Davtyans with their 2 small children shared living space with Nerses’s parents and his brother’s growing family in a small, old house. Last year the family was selected as Fuller Center for Housing Armenia beneficiary family to receive no profit, no interest, no inflation included mortgage to complete their house construction. With the help of extended family members, local community as well as Marriott Armenia hotel and PwC Armenia personnel the house was almost done and the final touch was to make the sidewalks to keep the humidity away from the house. This work was done with the help of Cascade Insurance personnel, who also made a donation to assist the building program. Now the family is happy to have a nice, completed house.  Cascade Insurance looked forward to this event understanding that prosperity can be achieved only by united and hand in hand work. Only by this way we can help families to have basis for sustainable future.“On behalf of the whole Cascade Insurance team we would like to thank “Fuller Center for Housing Armenia” for organizing this charity event. Helping the family of Davtyans also gave the company a teambuilding opportunity, thanks to which the staff is more united,” mentioned Hasmik Olson, head of marketing department of Cascade Insurance ICJSC. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Fuller Center for Housing Armenia (FCHA) cooperationThe International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Fuller Center for Housing Armenia are partnering to assist 8 disadvantaged families near by boarder in Tavush District to rehabilitate their houses. The proportion of funds invested for this purpose by partners is: ICRC 70% and FCHA 30%. Through this project, the partners contribute to enhancing a conductive environment that enables to have means to answer to their needs and to better cope with their daily life, and the state of uncertainty they are living in. The selection of families was done by the joint forces of partners. The families will receive long term, interest free, no inflation included loans. The repayments will be invested to assist families within this partnership again. The management of the revolving fund is entrusted to FCHA. The FCHA will assess these families to improve their situation in terms of housing, provide technical support to families in terms of estimation of cost of the material required to perform necessary rehabilitation works. “The fact that the families started rebuilding their houses in winter proves that the programme we set up responds to a real need,” said Aslan Bzhikhatlov, an ICRC delegate supervising the programme. “Families of missing persons are a particularly disadvantaged group. That is why we decided to do what we could to help them better cope with the terrible uncertainty they face in their daily lives.” “We are excited to announce about this partnership as it adds one more opportunity to involve in our projects more families in housing need. I am sure we will have long term and prosperous cooperation and as a result many of families will have better and healthy homes to raise their kids” said Ashot Yeghiazaryan. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is an impartial, neutral and independent organisation whose exclusively humanitarian mission is to protect the lives and the dignity of victims of war and internal violence and to provide them with assistance. Web site: www.icrc.org Fuller Center for Housing Armenia is a Non-government Charitable Organization that supports community development in the Republic of Armenia by assisting in building and renovating simple, decent and affordable homes, as well as advocating the right to decent shelter as a matter of conscience and action. Web site: www.fullercenterarmenia.org |
